Category Archives: Politics

The Dual-Process Theory of Morality, and Some Examples

Posted on Friday 12 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Today I finished reading this month’s big book (i.e. a substantial nonfiction book), Joshua Greene’s Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them, an extremely interesting book for the way its central idea knits together many of … Continue reading →

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Obsolete Laws, Morality, and Beliefs

Posted on Thursday 11 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The world is changing, and conservatives deny this by appealing to values of a simpler past. How Republicans are resorting to obsolete laws — the Comstock laws, the 1864 Alabama ruling — to enforce their morality upon everyone; How the … Continue reading →

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Eclipse Aftermath, and Politics

Posted on Monday 8 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

First of all, our street had a scheduled power outage this morning, from 9-12, so I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to see any of the TV coverage of the total eclipse crossing the eastern US today. There were … Continue reading →

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How Humanity is Hobbled by Tribalism

Posted on Saturday 6 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I do have a general scheme in work, for which all of these items are supporting evidence. (And how this really does relate to science fiction.) A rogue GOP congressman who spouts unsupported conspiracy theories; How RFK Jr. supporters rationalize … Continue reading →

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Imagine Prioritizing Truth Over Being Right

Posted on Wednesday 3 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s an amazing notion: there are some people who would rather find the truth, than be right. These are the scientists — some of them, anyway. This concerns Daniel Kahneman, whose death I noted a week ago here. NY Times, … Continue reading →

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It’s Time for Another Round of… Stupid? Or Cynical?

Posted on Tuesday 2 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Stupid or Cynical: Republican/Christian conservatives respond to the coincidence of Easter and Trans Recognition Day; Some MAGA claims are just delusional, example from Steve Bannon; Robert Reich on Trump’s 5-step fascist plan; And how conservatives reject the idea of lab-grown … Continue reading →

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Mirror Realities

Posted on Saturday 30 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Can’t resist another round of political links this afternoon, about the Alice in Wonderland, mirror-universe that conservatives and Trump-supporters apparently live in. In which they, and those of us living in the real objective world, believe the other is the … Continue reading →

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Exceptionalism, and Science Fiction

Posted on Thursday 21 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

A screed by Brian Karem at Salon about how “America has lost its collective mind”; How ideas of American exceptionalism have been reflected in 20th century science fiction; Examples about “don’t say gay” laws; Trump’s fascist rhetoric; Trump’s dementia; how … Continue reading →

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The Economy, the Deep State, and Conservative Denial of Reality

Posted on Tuesday 19 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How conservatives have won their war against social media in order to keep spreading disinformation; A reality check on what the “Deep State” actually consists of; Two more takes on why so many people don’t realize how good the American … Continue reading →

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Ancient and Modern Morality, Examples

Posted on Monday 18 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

David French and Stephen Breyer on originalism; Short items about how Trump is out of his mind (from Robert Reich), his “blood bath” comments, and his threat to shut down the media; Jamelle Bouie on how the election isn’t about … Continue reading →

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